- There are many important conservation and environmental stories Mongabay isn’t able to cover.
- Here’s a digest of some of the significant developments from the week.
- If you think we’ve missed something, feel free to add it in the comments.
- Mongabay does not vet the news sources below, nor does the inclusion of a story on this list imply an endorsement of its content.
Tropical forests
Scientists set up a mirror for wildlife in the rainforest, with comical results (Sputnik News).
Researchers in Ecuador discover a new species of frog with a thumb-claw (Newsweek).
In late 2018, an eastern bongo, a critically endangered antelope from East Africa, was born at a Florida zoo (First Coast News, News 4 Jacksonville).
Researchers argue that dams built in lowland rainforests are too costly to biodiversity to be justified (Phys.Org/University of Stirling).
As Colombia’s forests fall, organized crime profits rise (Insight Crime).
California’s plan for carbon trading could infringe upon communities’ rights, leaders say (Devdiscourse).
Forest clearing for oil palm plantations in Borneo is affecting the group size of proboscis monkeys (Phys.Org/Cardiff University).
Tanzania began a six-month push to root out illegal logging in the country (Khmer Times, Xinhua).
Haiti could lose half of its species to deforestation-related habitat loss by 2035 (WHYY Philadelphia).
Tree plantations in Southeast Asia are becoming a popular investment in China (South China Morning Post).
Illegal logging led to landslides in Indonesia (The Jakarta Post).
A female bongo died after complications from a cesarean section birth in Virginia (WAVY).
Other news
Ranchers across the western United States struggle to cope with increasing numbers of wolves (Pacific Standard).
Warmer water is causing problems for Guadalupe fur seals (Hakai Magazine).
Climate change is throwing off Australia’s “thermostat,” the Great Barrier Reef (Hakai Magazine).
Proponents of a dam project in Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve say its construction is necessary for the country’s economic development (IPP Media).
The U.S. government shutdown is hampering wildlife conservation work (WBUR Boston).
Wild animals are beginning to use a highway overpass in the state of Washington (Smithsonian Magazine).
A bustling economy kept U.S. carbon emissions high in 2018, despite the closure of coal-fired power plants (The New York Times, The Washington Post).
Banner image of an eastern bongo in Kenya by Chuckupd via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain).
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